Stone Roses headline T in the Park 2012 - but is it a good idea?

Malcolm Jack ponders the significance of the Roses at T in the Park 2012

I am not in favour of The Resurrection, I’ll be honest about that. Like all bands of yesteryear that matter to me – and The Stone Roses were a staple of my teens – I believe they should be remembered as they were in their prime.

I was too young to ever see the Roses live, but I have seen Ian Brown solo on several occasions and each time his diminishing voice has increasingly resembled that of a confused drunk shouting at himself in an underpass. John Squire has completely abandoned his post-Roses musical pursuits – thank Christ – to concentrate on painting, while Reni has barely banged a drum live in a decade and a half, leaving ex-Primal Scream bassist Mani as the only member to get pass marks as a touring musician these last 15 years. Doesn’t augur well does it?

Yet, I would hesitate to knock anyone who wishfully believes this reunion is what the world is waiting for, and I’ll admit that seeing the four bandmates side-by-side again has positively shifted my impressions of why they’ve finally decided to stage a comeback.

Money is undoubtedly a factor – when you consider their reunion’s incredible bankability (at least £12.1 million in the 68 minutes alone it took to sell all 220,000 tickets to their Manchester shows at Heaton Park) how could it not be? But for me there was something genuine in the verbal and body language at that press conference and in those Pennie Smith photographs that suggested there’s something more vital than flat-lining bank balances at work here.

More than just the Roses’ songwriting team, Brown and Squire were childhood best mates who took on the world, until those old chestnuts drugs and cash came between them, shattering the band and leaving the remnants to spiral towards burnout at that infamous final Reading debacle in 1996. If I’m able to stand at T in the Park next July and feel confident that I’m witnessing a celebration of friends patching-up their differences to have a fucking blast together again, then the Third Coming’s fine by me. Morrissey and Marr – just don’t go getting any ideas.

The Stone Roses Press Conference - Part 1

The Stone Roses Press Conference - Part 2

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (Live In Blackpool)

From relatively humble beginnings, T in the Park has become the acknowledged behemoth of the Scottish festival scene and one of the UK's largest events. In 2015 the festival moved from its longstanding Balado location to the new grounds of Strathallan Castle in Perthshire.
Bands appearing in 2016 include The Stone…